Redesigning the Gear Tunnel & Refreshing the R1 line

[ThatOneGuy]

I've seen anecdotes in various forums along the lines of "my friend works at Rivian and told me that the new tonneau is coming in 2024," or "a service tech mentioned that we won't get a redesigned tonneau for a year or more," or "Rivian engineers had problems getting the new design to fit the existing space." Sentiments from the latter match up with those expressed by various engineering-minded forum members here and elsewhere, all scratching their head at the small space housing the now-discontinued powered tonneau and how difficult it will be to come up with a solution to the problems it faced. Stitching together those sentiments, the repeated delays and general silence on the redesigned powered tonneau, manual tonneau cover, camp kitchen, and gear tunnel shuttle ("to support a range of products to come"), it's becoming increasingly clear that Rivian is likely redesigning the gear tunnel space altogether.

I suspect that the gear tunnel redesign will impact the R1 series in a significant enough way (structurally) that Rivian can't simply pass it off like they have with other minor changes ("we are continuously making improvements to our vehicles and do not wait to incorporate them"), and that they are planning to take the opportunity to incorporate multiple minor/moderate changes at one time as a mid-cycle refresh of the R1 line. A mid-cycle refresh would allow them to make broader changes that bring them in-line with upcoming offerings from their competitors (Ram 1500 REV, Silverado EV, Ford yet-to-be-announced mid-sized truck EV) and future-proof the R1 line until a complete refresh in 2027/2028.

Potential changes that come to mind:

• Redesigned Gear Tunnel (square?)
  • Accommodates redesigned Powered Tonneau Cover
    • Non-retrofittable because new design takes advantage of form factor changes
  • Accommodates redesigned Gear Tunnel Shuttle
    • Redesigned Camp Kitchen
      • Fits new form factor
      • Incorporates material & design changes that allow for easier production, scalability
        • *Previously expressed issues with scaling production
        • *Prototypes seen testing different materials
    • Other unannounced accessories
      • Fridge/Freezer
        • *Previously stated they were working on, then radio silence
      • Pop-up projector with screen
        • *Previous prototype seen
• Updated 800v architecture
  • *Previously stated they were working on, then radio silence
  • Architecture changes to accommodate new battery technologies, faster charging speeds in 2024 and beyond
• Bigger Auxiliary Power Inverter
  • *Some indications they were working on
  • Main competitors offering on current and upcoming vehicles
• Quad-motor Max Pack
  • *Delivery repeatedly delayed, then cancelled due to design changes
  • *Deliveries begin first half of 2024 (with mid-cycle refresh)
• Front-bumper winch
  • *Previously stated they were working on
  • *Prototype seen
  • *References/Images found in application source code
  • Radio silence
• Manual Tonneau Cover
  • Likely delayed because they engineered to accommodate current and future gear tunnel form factors
• OEM Rock Sliders
  • Credit to @WattTruckMatt
• Reintroduction of Ocean Coast's light-stained wood accents/other options
  • *Previously expressed issues with scaling production due to staining inconsistency
  • *Hinted at return, along with other interior options

With the above in mind, I don't think it's a coincidence that, during the recent quarterly investor call, RJ announced their plan to bring down the line in Q4 2023 to incorporate "new technologies" into their vehicles. Halting production for a few weeks during a critical growth period isn't a decision made lightly *unless* doing so is judged to a beneficial strategic move. A beneficial strategic move would be future proofing the R1 line against competitors for the next 4 years, and I think that's what they plan to do.

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[WattTruckMatt]

You can add prototype OEM sliders to that list. I'm still waiting...

 

[Guy]

Very good points. It should be noted that since they are parts constrained they can go down for a few weeks with limited impact because they can run at a higher rate before and after.
I had wondered what the technological improvements would be at this stage of the product lifecycle.
They would need to do a manual cover for the current design because thousands have been pre sold.

 

[ThatOneGuy]

Very good points. It should be noted that since they are parts constrained they can go down for a few weeks with limited impact because they can run at a higher rate before and after.
I had wondered what the technological improvements would be at this stage of the product lifecycle.
They would need to do a manual cover for the current design because thousands have been pre sold.

I believe the manual tonneau cover delays are the result of a redesign meant to accommodate both the current and future gear tunnel form factors. They previously stated that the manual tonneau cover comprised of four interlocking slats that would also fit together to form a camp table, then they went silent on that feature and delayed the tonneau. My guess is that the manual tonneau slats were redesigned to be smaller so they can fit in a slightly smaller gear tunnel.

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

I believe the manual tonneau cover delays are the result of a redesign meant to accommodate both the current and future gear tunnel form factors. They previously stated that the manual tonneau cover comprised of four interlocking slats that would also fit together to form a camp table, then they went silent on that feature and delayed the tonneau. My guess is that the manual tonneau slats were redesigned to be smaller so they can fit in a slightly smaller gear tunnel.

The "camp table" feature of the manual tonneau got scrubbed from their site long before they started deliveries. I wouldn't necessarily attribute causation to the powered tonneau redesign.

 

[Dark-Fx]

R1X

 

[ThatOneGuy]

The "camp table" feature of the manual tonneau got scrubbed from their site long before they started deliveries. I wouldn't necessarily attribute causation to the powered tonneau redesign.

Fair point.

 

[AllInev]

I've seen anecdotes in various forums along the lines of "my friend works at Rivian and told me that the new tonneau is coming in 2024," or "a service tech mentioned that we won't get a redesigned tonneau for a year or more," or "Rivian engineers had problems getting the new design to fit the existing space." Sentiments from the latter match up with those expressed by various engineering-minded forum members here and elsewhere, all scratching their head at the small space housing the now-discontinued powered tonneau and how difficult it will be to come up with a solution to the problems it faced. Stitching together those sentiments, the repeated delays and general silence on the redesigned powered tonneau, manual tonneau cover, camp kitchen, and gear tunnel shuttle ("to support a range of products to come"), it's becoming increasingly clear that Rivian is likely redesigning the gear tunnel space altogether.

I suspect that the gear tunnel redesign will impact the R1 series in a significant enough way (structurally) that Rivian can't simply pass it off like they have with other minor changes ("we are continuously making improvements to our vehicles and do not wait to incorporate them"), and that they are planning to take the opportunity to incorporate multiple minor/moderate changes at one time as a mid-cycle refresh of the R1 line. A mid-cycle refresh would allow them to make broader changes that bring them in-line with upcoming offerings from their competitors (Ram 1500 REV, Silverado EV, Ford yet-to-be-announced mid-sized truck EV) and future-proof the R1 line until a complete refresh in 2027/2028.

Potential changes that come to mind:

• Redesigned Gear Tunnel (square?)
  • Accommodates redesigned Powered Tonneau Cover
    • Non-retrofittable because new design takes advantage of form factor changes
  • Accommodates redesigned Gear Tunnel Shuttle
    • Redesigned Camp Kitchen
      • Fits new form factor
      • Incorporates material & design changes that allow for easier production, scalability
        • *Previously expressed issues with scaling production
        • *Prototypes seen testing different materials
    • Other unannounced accessories
      • Fridge/Freezer
        • *Previously stated they were working on, then radio silence
      • Pop-up projector with screen
        • *Previous prototype seen
• Updated 800v architecture
  • *Previously stated they were working on, then radio silence
  • Architecture changes to accommodate new battery technologies, faster charging speeds in 2024 and beyond
• Bigger Auxiliary Power Inverter
  • *Some indications they were working on
  • Main competitors offering on current and upcoming vehicles
• Quad-motor Max Pack
  • *Delivery repeatedly delayed, then cancelled due to design changes
  • *Deliveries begin first half of 2024 (with mid-cycle refresh)
• Front-bumper winch
  • *Previously stated they were working on
  • *Prototype seen
  • *References/Images found in application source code
  • Radio silence
• Manual Tonneau Cover
  • Likely delayed because they engineered to accommodate current and future gear tunnel form factors
• OEM Rock Sliders
  • Credit to @WattTruckMatt
• Reintroduction of Ocean Coast's light-stained wood accents/other options
  • *Previously expressed issues with scaling production due to staining inconsistency
  • *Hinted at return, along with other interior options

With the above in mind, I don't think it's a coincidence that, during the recent quarterly investor call, RJ announced their plan to bring down the line in Q4 2023 to incorporate "new technologies" into their vehicles. Halting production for a few weeks during a critical growth period isn't a decision made lightly *unless* doing so is judged to a beneficial strategic move. A beneficial strategic move would be future proofing the R1 line against competitors for the next 4 years, and I think that's what they plan to do.

Thanks for the post.

I don’t think it’s a stretch to assume Rivian, like any product company, is always experimenting with tons of changes and new accessories. Without good inside information, it’s extremely hard to know which things will make it to production.

 

[cohall]

Interesting post, and you could very well be right.

My personal perspective is that they've just tabled (pun intended) accessories and features until they've ramped vehicle production to a higher level. Wall street doesn't care about accessiories, it seems to only care about pumping as many vehicles out as possible. The company is in a tough spot.

That said, like any company, I would imagine they're constantly working on new designs and changes. But I don't see those rolling out for several years.

 

[SASSquatch]

I for one don’t believe there is a massive redesign coming of the gear tunnel or the power tonneau. Munro showed us all that really needed to be done to make the existing system more robust and it was fairly straightforward.

Why would they delay both the manual cover and power cover until a complete redesign of the gear tunnel? Wouldn’t that leave out in the cold all existing manual and power cover owners who have been promised an upgraded product/manual cover?

That makes little sense to me. I think more likely they are prioritizing ramp because that is the only way the company can bring down the cost of each vehicle off the line and reduce cash-burn. Rivian is betting not having your manual cover or power cover upgrade won’t keep you from buying a truck and thus far that is the case.

The power cover and manual cover will both go through rigorous stress testing to ensure it will not end up being a liability for repair down the road and my sense is they are iteratively tweaking the design and then need to tool, secure parts, train the installation and get into production.

That will take time to do, especially since it isn’t a priority.

 

[DetroitRed]

I think it's too much of a stretch to believe that limited communication about the tonneau fix indicates a structural redesign of the truck. I would imagine they aren't communicating because they don't have significant updates and they don't want to draw more attention to the subject by saying "we haven't fixed it yet and still don't have an ETA."

The point of a mid-cycle refresh is to give a vehicle a facelift to keep it's styling fresh without a structural redesign. Changing the structure of the truck would cost millions in validation re-testing and would take longer to bring to market than a revised tonneau.

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